By Raul Castillo
Feb 25, 2024, 20:11 PM EST
President Joe Biden will summon US congressional leaders to the White House on Tuesday to pressure them to approve an emergency package on Ukraine and Israel, as well as to avoid a government shutdown, according to an official report.
The leaders cited by Biden are the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mike Johnson (Republican); Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D); House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (Democrat); and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (Republican), The Associated Press reported.
Although the meeting has not yet been publicly confirmed, a White House source told the aforementioned media that the president will express the “urgency” of approving the aid package that would already have bipartisan support.
Last week, Biden publicly called on Congress to approve aid to the European country attacked by Russia, warning that “time is running out.”
It should be remembered that the Senate, controlled by Democrats, approved a bill valued at $95 billion, which included aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan.
He will ask the Republicans for speed
However, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Republican Johnson, has not yet brought the issue to the chamber. The Biden administration is pressing as Ukraine, in particular, calls for more support.
“This is one of those cases where one person can change the course of history. If President Johnson introduces this bill, he would produce a strong bipartisan majority in favor of aid to Ukraine,” White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said on ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday.
Sullivan highlighted Ukraine’s need to obtain more weapons, according to the AP.
This Sunday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that his country urgently needs artillery and air defenses from its allies to continue defending itself against Russia.
“We have our partners, and I hope that it is not just about words, that it is really not about how to weaken the Russians, but how to make ourselves stronger,” the Ukrainian president said in an interview with NBC News.
Biden will also push to avoid a government shutdown whose first tranche expires on March 1 and other federal agencies, such as the Pentagon, the Department of Homeland Security and the State Department, expire on March 8, the AP detailed.
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